Process of separating salts of cobalt and nickel.



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THOMAS'BURNS McGHIE, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO THOMASBARTON, ()F LONDON, ENGLAND.

PROCESS OF SEPARATIN G SALTS OF COBALT LAND NICKEL.

Specification oiLetters-Patent.

Patented may 26, won.

. Application flled September 9, 1907. Serial No. 392,050.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I TnoMAs BURNS Mo Gina; mctallurgist, a subject of theKing of England, have invented a new and useful Process of SeJaratingSalts of Cobalt and Nickel, 01 winch the following is a speciiieation.

The present invention relates to. an improved method for the separationof salts of cobalt and nickel. I

B com )arativcly simple and well known he metals coba.t and nickel canbe in aqueous solution in the from of chlorids. The separation, however,of the two metals when mixed together in this Way has hitherto prescntedconsiderable practical dilhculty.

Under ordinary circumstances the solution when evaporated will give acrop of mixed crystals of cobalt and nickel chloride.

The present inventiondepends upon the discovery that it is possible tocause the solution to deposit first nearly all-the cobalt in thecrystalline form, retaining in the mother liquor concentrated nickelchlorid with a little remaining cobalt. This residual cobalt may becompletely eliminated from the nickel liquor by the oxidation or othersuitable method.

By cautiously evaporating the solution of themixcd chlorids to asuitable degree'of concentration in the presence of a slight excess ofhydrochlmio acid, the desired result may he obtained, namely, thecrystallizing out of the cobalt as practically pure chlorid which can befished out of the solution and after washing to remove adherent motherliquor can be further treated for obtaining other cobalt salts ormetalliecobalt therefrom.

Obviously any of the known methods for c'll'ccline evaporation andcrystallization may be employed in carrying out this invention,

andnaturally the details oi the process will' vary according to thenature ol' the material operated upon and the desired degree of purityin the products obtained by the proc ess. A specific instance may begiven as an example of the manner in which the invention is to becarried into effect, but variations from this example will be readilyunderstood tain those acquainted with the art tion of 1 of cobalt to 10of nickel, have been:'

obtained by effecting the crystallization in six pots after the mannerof the ordinary Pattinson process for the separation of silver fromlead. The solution of mixed salt-s is introduced into one of the metalpots and heated to the boiling temperature of the solu'tion at which itis maintained until the solutiontbecomes saturated at that tem erature.That saturation is reached is s own by the formation of thin films ofcrystals on the surface of the liquor wherever a current of air strikesit. At this stage the pot is allowed to cool toatmospheric temperatureor thereabout, and the crop of crystals produced} during cooling is.removed and at in theothcr' middle pot. This leaves in the first pot asolution of mixed. chloride saturated at atmospherictemperature and ofcourse containing a larger proportion of nickel than the --originalmaterial. This li nor is removed to the next pot on the other sills. Ineach pot 'the process above described is repeated, the liquorbeingconcentrated to saturation at the'boilin tempera- 'perature toclient crystallization; The resultin products were as above stated, thenr i-it may s ometimes'be possible to oblietter results than those given.

As be.

'85 ture and cooled again at atmospheric ternfore mentioned a greaterdegree'of urificaess further. v

What clann is: p 1. Process of separating nickel and cobalt tion may beobtained by COIltllllllDgt 1e proofrom solutione containing these metalsas].

? mined chlorids, consisting in making the solution slightly acid,concentrating it by evaporation and .thenI allowing c 'stallization totake )lacc whereby the cribalt chlorid is crystallizcd-out first. 4

2. Process of; separating nickel and cobalt from solutions.containingthese metals as mixed chloride, consistin5 in makin the solutionslightlyacid, concentrating it y evaporation, allowitig the cobalt'andnickel chlofrom solutions containing these metals as assess ride tolargely separate one from the other by so srated froni the niekelby'fraotional crys- Y fractional or stailliza'tion, and re eating thetalization as soon as the samples tested process unti salts of thedesires degree of 1 show the desired degree of concentration. purity areobtained.

3. Process of separating nickel and cobalt name to this specification inthe two subscribing witnesses.

T. BURNS MoGHIE.

presence of mixed chlorirls, consisting in makin the solution slightlacid, concentrating it y evaporation, testing the mother liquor re eatedWitnesses: by means of samples taken out an cooled, HUBERT A. GILL,

and allowing the'ooba-lt chloricl to become 1 A. E. ODELL,

In testimony whereof I have signed my 15

